Steve Witkoff Is a ‘Kremlin Lover’ | Andrew Neil

Mar 24, 2025 | “One is just a busted flush mad American broadcaster, but the other is the president's special envoy and he knows nothing about what he's talking about.”

The interview between Tucker Carlson and US special envoy Steve Witkoff showed them both to be “Kremlin lovers,” says Times Radio’s Andrew Neil.


The quicker the world turns its back on America, the better! America is no longer a serious player which can be trusted. – © Mark Alexander

Former Kremlin Advisor Says 'Best Possible Outcome Is Ukraine’s Total Capitulation' | BBC News

Mar 14, 2025 | While US President Donald Trump pushes Russia and Ukraine for a ceasefire, influential voices in Moscow are calling on the Russian authorities to adopt a hard line.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested he is ready for a halt in fighting but says "there are nuances" - which he laid out talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Thursday.

From the start of this war, Putin has demanded the "demilitarisation" of Ukraine, which is anathema to Kyiv and its allies.

The BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg has been speaking to political scientist and former Kremlin advisor Sergey Karaganov.

Comrade Trump: Is His Relationship with Russia Too Close for Comfort? | DW News

Mar 11, 2025 | Donald Trump's handling of Ukraine since he came to office has reignited questions about his connections to the Kremlin. So far, he's been pressuring Ukraine's government to make concessions with the aim of starting peace talks with Russia. But why has Trump put no pressure on Russia to make concessions?

America's new alignment with Russia has upended a world order that has been in place for decades. US President Donald Trump's new deference to the Kremlin has alarmed many in the west. Trump and his administration have taken several steps favoring Russia, without appearing to require anything in return.

The first bombshell was an announcement in February by the new US defense secretary that Ukraine's goals of NATO membership and a return to pre-2014 borders were 'unrealistic'. In another boost to Vladimir Putin, the US agreed to hold talks with Russia on ending the war but excluded Ukraine. In a further rehabilitation, Trump said Russia should be re-admitted to the G7. Then in what critics are calling one of the most incomprehensible examples: the US sided with Russia in UN resolutions on Ukraine that contained no criticism of Moscow - again without appearing to demand concessions.

All the above have happened since Trump was inaugurated in January. But Trump's relationship with Russia and Putin goes back much further.

Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Craig Unger says that Donald Trump is indeed a Russian asset.

Putin Is ‘Feeling Good’: Brennan Reacts to Kremlin Saying D.C. Now ‘Largely Aligns’ with Them

Mar 3, 2025 | A U.S. official confirms that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to halt offensive cyber operations against Russia. Former CIA Director John Brennan joins Chris Jansing to share his insight.

Kremlin Says US Foreign Policy Pivot ‘Largely Coincides with Our Vision’

THE GUARDIAN: Russia’s foreign minister also praises Donald Trump for his ‘commonsense’ aim to end the war in Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Sunday that the dramatic pivot in the foreign policy of the US “largely” coincides with its own vision, with Donald Trump described as having “common sense”.

The US president, who has often said he respects his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, has worked to build ties with Moscow since taking office in January, including twice siding with Russia in UN votes.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told a reporter from state television. “This largely coincides with our vision.”

Peskov added: “There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful.”

Peskov made the comments on Wednesday but they were only made public on Sunday, two days after Trump defended Putin during a fiery clash with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Oval Office on Friday. » | Angela Giuffrida and agencies | Sunday, March 2, 2025

A Baltic Warning: What Ukraine War Means for Europe—and the Russian Perspective

Mar 1, 2025 | On the GZERO World Podcast, we're bringing you two starkly different views on Ukraine's future and European security. First, Ian Bremmer speaks with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže about the growing security threats facing the Baltics—from cyberattacks and disinformation to undersea sabotage in the Baltic Sea. When an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet recently severed a vital power cable between Estonia and Finland, it was a stark reminder of how hybrid warfare is playing out beyond the battlefield. Braže warns that Putin’s ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine, aiming to weaken US alliances and destabilize Europe. She also pushes back against claims that Ukraine's NATO ambitions provoked the war, calling them “complete nonsense,” and outlines why Latvia is boosting its defense spending to 5% of GDP.

The conversation then shifts to Moscow, where Bremmer speaks with former Russian colonel and ex-Carnegie Moscow Center director Dmitri Trenin. Once considered a pro-Western voice, Trenin’s views now align closely with the Kremlin. He argues that the fate of Ukraine should be decided primarily by Russia and the United States—not Ukraine or Europe.

Host: Ian Bremmer
Guest: Baiba Braže & Dmitri Trenin

Kremlin Welcomes ‘More Balanced’ US Stance on Ukraine after UN Vote

THE GUARDIAN: Moscow praises Washington for siding with it at UN, as European countries abstain in sign of deepening rift with US

The Kremlin has welcomed what it said was a “much more balanced” US stance on Ukraine after the Trump administration pushed through a UN security council resolution on the war that included no criticism of Russia.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the move was evidence of Washington’s willingness to try to find a peaceful settlement. Moscow backed the resolution, which was passed late on Monday, although European countries abstained, in a sign of a deepening rift with Washington.

In a simple three-paragraph motion on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the US took a neutral position on the war and called for a “swift end” to the conflict and “lasting peace”. It presented a sharply different tone to that of the Biden administration, which had supported Ukraine throughout.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, acknowledged what he said were “constructive changes” in the US position on the conflict. US allies in Europe on the 15-member council – France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia – abstained from the vote. » | Andrew Roth and Oliver Holmes | Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Kremlin Message to Trump: There’s Money to Be Made in Russia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Russian officials are arguing that American companies stand to make billions of dollars by re-entering Russia. The White House is listening.

The Russian government’s top investment manager, who has Harvard and McKinsey credentials and fluent English, brought a simple printout to Tuesday’s talks with the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia.

Its message: By pulling out of Russia in outrage over the invasion of Ukraine, American companies had walked away from piles of cold, hard cash.

“Losses of U.S. companies by industry,” read the document, which Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, showed to a New York Times reporter. “Total losses,” one of the columns said. The sum at the bottom: $324 billion.

In appealing to President Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed in on his desire to make a profit. President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday praised the U.S. delegation in Riyadh for not criticizing Russia as previous administrations did — there was no “condemnation of what was done in the past,” he said. He added that beyond geopolitics, the two countries were now moving toward deeper engagement on space, the economy and “our joint work on global energy markets.” » | Anton Troianovski | Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Russian Court Fines Google More Than World’s GDP

THE TELEGRAPH: Moscow seeks compensation after tech giant blocked pro-Kremlin content

Russia has demanded Google pay a fine worth more than the world’s GDP for blocking pro-Kremlin media outlets.

Judges in Moscow are seeking around $20 decillion from the technology giant, many times the estimated $100-trillion size of the global economy. If written out in full, the fine would be 20 followed by 33 zeros.

The penalty, which far eclipses Google’s own $2-trillion market value, comes after the US technology business barred pro-Moscow propaganda channel Tsargrad TV, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, from YouTube four years ago. » | Matthew Field, Senior Technology Reporter | Wednesday, October 30, 2024

For numbers bigger than a trillion, click here.

Alexei Navalny Reported Dead: General Petraeus Reacts

Feb 16, 2024 | “In a way I’m surprised that he lived as long as he did.” General Petraeus reacts to reports of the “tragic” death of Putin’s main opposition leader Alexi Navalny on Times Radio.

Related video, article and material here.

Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Has Died, Russian Media Report | BBC News | BBC News

Feb 16, 2024 | Russia's most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in prison inside the Arctic Circle, Russian news agencies report, quoting the prison service.

Seen as President Vladimir Putin's most vociferous critic, Navalny was serving a 19-year jail term for offences widely considered politically motivated. He was moved to an Arctic penal colony, considered one of the toughest jails, late last year.

The prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district said he had "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday. He had "almost immediately lost consciousness", it said in a statement. The causes of his death were being established, Tass news agency reported.


Related articles/material in German, French here.

En direct, Alexeï Navalny est mort : l’opposant russe « vient d’être brutalement assassiné par le Kremlin », affirme le président de la Lettonie

LE MONDE : L’annonce de la mort de l’adversaire numéro un de Vladimir Poutine suscite une vive émotion parmi les puissances occidentales.

12 : 14 : L’Union européenne tient « le régime russe » pour « seul responsable » de la mort d’Alexeï Navalny, affirme Charles Michel

« Alexeï Navalny s’est battu pour les valeurs de liberté et de démocratie. Pour ses idéaux, il a fait le sacrifice ultime. L’UE tient le régime russe pour seul responsable de cette mort tragique », a déclaré le président du Conseil européen Charles Michel, sur X.

Il a poursuivi en écrivant : « J’adresse mes plus sincères condoléances à sa famille. Et à ceux qui luttent pour la démocratie partout dans le monde, dans les conditions les plus sombres. Les combattants meurent. Mais la lutte pour la #liberté ne se termine jamais ». LIVE EN COURS » | vendredi 16 février 2024

Russia Declares Estonian PM Kaja Kallas a 'Wanted' Person | DW News

Feb 13, 2024 | The Kremlin says it placed her on the wanted list for taking hostile actions against Russia – and what it calls "the desecration of historical memory". Moscow has long criticized Estonia for removing Soviet-era monuments. Estonia's state secretary and Lithuania's culture minister are also on the list. Kallas has been a vocal support of Ukraine since Russia's invasion. For more, we talk to our Russia analyst Konstantin Eggert, who joins us from Vilnius.

En direct, guerre en Ukraine : poursuivie par Moscou, la première ministre estonienne dénonce la « tactique d’intimidation » russe : Moscou a lancé un avis de recherche contre Kaja Kallas, la première ministre d’Estonie, le secrétaire d’Etat estonien, Taimar Peterkop, et le ministre de la culture de Lituanie, Simonas Kairys, invoquant la vision opposée de l’histoire qu’ont la Russie et ces Etats. LIVE EN COURS »

It’s Time to End Putin’s Dictatorship | Liberty of Russia Legion

Listen to this Russian criticize the Kremlin’s dictatorship.

Russia Blames US for Alleged Kremlin Drone Attack - BBC News

May 4, 2023 | Russia has accused the United States of being behind an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin that it claims intended to kill Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington". Peskov did not provide any evidence to back up the claims, but he said that an urgent investigation was under way. Yesterday, US officials said the White House had no warning of a drone attack on the Kremlin. Ukraine has also denied responsibility for the attack.

Russia Accuses Ukraine of Attempting to Kill President Putin with Drone Attacks on Kremlin

May 3, 2023 | Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a drone attack on the Kremlin. That's according to the state-run RIA news agency. It says two drones were shot down, adding the Kremlin will respond, when and how it sees fit.

Related article and video here.

War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy Advisor Rejects Kremlin's Call for Talks | Conflict Zone

A senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says nuclear threats from Vladimir Putin need to be taken seriously, but told DW's Tim Sebastian that this is not the first time the Kremlin has sought to blackmail the world.

Ihor Zhovkva, who works in the president's office in Kyiv, said the world's nuclear powers needed to convince Putin to step back from nuclear threats as Russian forces continue to suffer setbacks in Ukraine — but that for now the only talks that will take place with the Kremlin are on the battlefield.

Zhovkva said that if Russia was serious about negotiations, it would not have conducted sham "referendums" in occupied Ukrainian regions and illegally annexed the territories. Zhovkva also underlined that Ukraine would continue to seek the prosecution of war criminals and the assistance of international organizations and partners to collect evidence. He said those Ukrainians who willingly collaborated with Russian occupiers would face punishment.

Jake Sullivan: US Will Act ‘Decisively’ If Russia Uses Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

THE GUARDIAN: US national security adviser says: ‘Any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia’

America and its allies will act “decisively” if Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, reaffirming the Joe Biden White House’s previous response to mounting concerns that Vladimir Putin’s threats are in increased danger of being realized.

“We have communicated directly, privately and at very high levels to the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the US and our allies will respond decisively, and we have been clear and specific about what that will entail,” Sullivan told CBS’s Face The Nation. » | Edward Helmore | Sunday, September 25, 2022

How the Kremlin Is Forcing Ukrainians to Adopt Russian Life

THE NEW YORK YIMES: In Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine, local leaders are forcing civilians to accept Russian rule. Next come sham elections that would formalize Vladimir V. Putin’s claim that they are Russian territories.

Russian soldiers on the shore of the Black Sea in Skadovsk, a city in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. | Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA, via Shutterstock
They have handed out Russian passports, cellphone numbers and set-top boxes for watching Russian television. They have replaced Ukrainian currency with the ruble, rerouted the internet through Russian servers and arrested hundreds who have resisted assimilation.

In ways big and small, the occupying authorities on territory seized by Moscow’s forces are using fear and indoctrination to compel Ukrainians to adopt a Russian way of life. “We are one people,” blue-white-and-red billboards say. “We are with Russia.”

Now comes the next act in President Vladimir V. Putin’s 21st-century version of a war of conquest: the grass-roots “referendum.”

Russia-appointed administrators in towns, villages and cities like Kherson in Ukraine’s south are setting the stage for a vote as early as September that the Kremlin will present as a popular desire in the region to become part of Russia. They are recruiting pro-Russia locals for new “election commissions” and promoting to Ukrainian civilians the putative benefits of joining their country; they are even reportedly printing the ballots already. » | Anton Troianovski, Valerie Hopkins, Marc Santora and Michael Schwirtz | Published: Saturday, July 30, 2022; Updated: Sunday, July 31, 2022

Curious Number of Russian Oligarchs Have Died Since Invasion of Ukraine

Apr 23, 2022 • Ali Velshi reports on four separate instances of Kremlin-connected, extremely wealthy Russians with ties to the oil industry who have died by suicide since Russia's war in Ukraine began.